This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
I don’t use Netfilx and don’t even really know what Amazon Prime is. Anybody care to explain what Amazon Prime is?
The internet at the rental is not unlimited. AT&T stopped offering unlimited internet at the time. I am waiting to hear back from partner as to the amount of GB or whatever it is called.
Next week Guest is asking if they can connect to their accounts in the theater room. My partner is saying he would have to reprogram the Harmony remote in order to get them access to Netflix. Anyone know? I am not convinced he knows for sure, as he also does not use any of that stuff.
I spoke to my computer guy and he says you would have to watch endless hours of Netflix in order to even come close to going over the internet limit for the month.
YET - I hear people say they have had some guests who have blown through the entire month’s worth in just a week. Any idea what guests are doing that would cause them to use up internet so quickly??
And the internet can have a glitch once in a while but be back online within 20 seconds. What happens if they are watching Netflix and there is a glitch?
I suppose I should just break down and do the free trial so I understand how it all works. I just hate giving my credit card out, and then having to mark on my calendar when to cancel. And I don’t have any desire to go to the rental and force myself to watch whatever is on Netflix to try it out.
Amazon Prime is a yearly membership where you get unlimited free 2 day shipping along with other benefits like unlimited free streaming video (from a selection of titles). I love my amazon prime as I get my membership benefits alone from the free shipping. But I am not impressed at all in their free streaming options. But it could be a good perk for guests.
We love Netflix. It is worth the $7.99/month to be able to unlimited stream titles, and it’s a much better selection than Amazon. If you have slow internet the quality may not be as well, and it buffers ahead, so occasional blips in service don’t often have an impact, though occasionally the video will pause until the internet catches up again.
Unless you plan to use the free shipping, Netflix is the better option.
What is your GB limit? You could just link to the plan here. And Netflix would eat a lot of bandwidth, so I certainly would not assume it could not go over your limit. It depends how much your guests watch, and the quality of the video they watch. I don’t think Netflix is particularly well suited to places where bandwidth is metered. And I think it’s possibly to get quite precise estimates about Netflix bandwidth usage, though I’ve not checked myself. But I could try to crunch some numbers for you if you think they would be useful.
Wow, that’s a lot of bandwidth. My current plan is capped at 60 GB. An earlier plan (only a couple of years ago) was like 16 GB. What do you do with all that bandwidth?
You could always get something called a chrome cast that plugs into the TV and allows users to “cast” content from their personal devices on to the TV. Then you wouldn’t have to mess too much with tv settings or add accounts. I personally think a dedicated Netflix or prime account just for the cabin is unnecessary. Most people already have their own. If they can “cast” to your tv it would be a lot easier. The devices are about $35 and available anywhere like target. Easy to set up.
I agree that Netflix is well worth the price of $8 bucks a month.
My question to you is, what kind of TV is in your theatre room? If you don’t have a “smart” TV that can access the internet, you’ll need something like a Roku box to get the Netflix app.
As for the bandwidth issue, you could always call your provider and enquire. I know that my college age sons say Netflix is banned in the dorms between 8 and 11, probably because hundreds of users on a streaming service causes too much of a drain. Or maybe because they really want them to be studying but truthfully it shouldn’t be a problem for home use.
OK…I was familiar with the Amazon Prime shipping program. Thanks for explaining that the streaming services are something that comes along with it. So are you saying that in order to have access to the streaming part of it, a customer needs to sign up for the 2 day shipping part - it’s all one package together??
Technically, you are signing up for the shipping portion, and then the bonus is the streaming. But, yes, they are always bundled. The Amazon Prime streaming library isn’t good enough to buy that separately, in my opinion.
Thanks faheem - I have to find the plan. My partner gets the bills sent to his office and pays those from there. But I may be able to look up online to see if recognize the plan.
That’s what gets me - I looked up a comparison table long ago on AT&T site giving examples of different kinds of activities and how much bandwidth they likely will use. And how many hours of each activity. It didn’t seem like my guests could go through it all - but then again what if each guest is watching a movie on their tablet - and someone else is watching Netflix in High Def. in the the theater room?
I really also want to know from anyone who has had their guests burn through their internet and if they know what the guest did to achieve that.
EEK!! I was wondering what Chrome Cast was too. So it is not a service that provides a selection of shows…it just a device to allow guests to connect to their Netflix and Amazon Prime?
I wouldn’t want to offer my own Netflix account because then couldn’t a guest go in and have access to order things, etc?
Yes. They could change the account info! I know there are forum members here who have offered their accounts to guests but I feel it is unnecessary. Most people have their own! The chrome cast is so easy and will solve this handily.
The chrome cast is a small device you plug into the TV. It doesn’t provide anything.
Chloe - the theater room has a giant projector screen. The living room does have a “smart” tv.
Care you to explain what Roku is? I have heard of this too and briefly read about it. Does it offer streaming show selection, or this is like the Chrome Cast Kona was describing? What is the difference?
Yes, AT&T is the internet provider here. They own the lines so I cannot even go with another provider that offers regular DSL. The only other option would be slow internet through satellite.
Well good to know Netflix is limited to certain number of users streaming. I think my partner or the computer guy said if too many people are trying to stream - then everything would be too slow anyway? So guests aren’t likely to have 5 different people watching shows on youtube from their devices?
We have a Roku box. It basically turns a regular TV into a SMART TV. You can program your Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime and other accounts into the Roku and then they show up automatically on the Home page.
We have ATT. It used to be unlimited streaming, and so there was no usage monitor. We got a cap a few months ago of 600 gigs, and then the website started showing stats for usage. Even with guests our average was around 150 gigs, so well under. I just an email a few days ago that they raised the cap to 1 terabyte.
We do not use broadcast TV at all, everything is through the internet. Some days we watch 2-3 hours of TV total, other days it’s less. I use the internet a lot during the day and send files back and forth for business. Usually it’s not really large, but every once and a while a client will send a gig worth of information. Still, that’s only a small fraction of the available cap. Our guests have not been super heavy TV watchers but I don’t know how much they use their personal devices in the room. No issues yet.
Oh, and also, ATT has discontinued DSL in our area (which makes me nuts, I really preferred it over cable). I used to go with a different provider, but like you, there’s nobody else that offers a quality product. ATT is constantly changing my service (amazingly, it always gets more expensive!) and yet anytime the kids are home from school the speed sssllllllllooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwssssssss down.
but truthfully it shouldn’t be a problem for home use.